RIT picked as NASA challenge event site

Rochester Institute of Technology has been selected as one of 18 locations in the United States to host the NASA technology development challenge, a two-day event in April that features demonstrations of technology and a challenge for participants.

The second International Space Apps Challenge calls on citizens to work together to solve challenges related to improving life on earth and in space, RIT officials said.

During the event, participants with a broad variety of skills will work in teams to create open-source solutions for 50 software, hardware and visualization challenges, including robotics, citizen science platforms and applications of remote sensing data, organizers said.

Challenges include developing a mobile application that allows observers of a meteor shower to trace the location, color and size of a shooting star to creating a narrative and visualization of NASA data that explains space exploration.

“RIT and the Space Apps Rochester team have already shown themselves as leaders for the global event,” said Ali Llewellyn, project manager of the International Space Apps Challenge. “NASA is excited about collaborating with the Rochester community and we’re looking forward to big things coming out of the region.”

The Space Apps Challenge is open to anyone, and participants should bring computers and devices needed for development, RIT officials said.

The weekend event begins at 6 p.m. April 20 in RIT’s Student Innovation Hall, with a closing ceremony at 9 p.m. April 21.